Our thanks to everyone who has been praying for us so faithfully these last several weeks. Finally, it seems that things are getting a bit more back to ‘normal’!






As we communicated with you in early June, I (Bill) was hospitalized for nine days in Spain beginning May 15th for pancreatitis and we returned to the UK to recover. The last eight weeks have resulted in a roller coaster of health issues for me. Apparently, the pancreatic attack caused a great deal of gastrointestinal inflammation and I developed diverticulitis (our updates are starting to sound like medical journals). After an MRI, a specialist in the UK determined I should have my gall bladder removed and the surgery was performed on July 2. Thanks be to God, this was performed without complications and finally, after another week of recovery, the pain caused by the diverticulitis has started to subside.

This past week is the first since May that I have been relatively pain free. For any of you who have had long-term illnesses, we know you understand that when pain is a constant companion there are lessons to be learned about body, soul and spirit. One of the lessons I had to learn was that patience and rest were essential to recovery.  The photo here was made just a few days ago and we are grateful for the many prayers and concerns you have shared with us over these last weeks. Ky has been a great partner and caregiver during this time; I don’t know if anyone gives out medals for wives that have to put up with cranky, ill husbands, but my wife deserves one.

News from Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

When we were preparing to move to Oxford, we visited many churches, friends and individuals as I sought to communicate a bit of what goes on at the Centre. OCMS has about 120 students currently working towards their PhDs in mission research. Ky and I have been able to make contacts with students and scholars from around the world in our first three months here. My role is to both mentor and tutor these candidates.  OCMS was designed to be a place for men and women who are Christian leaders from the Global South (the Non-Western counties of the world). About one week ago a good friend of ours, Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso, successfully defended his PhD thesis. Here is his title:

A Comparative and Narrative Investigation into the Contribution of the Assemblies of God Church and Christian NGOs to Overcoming Obstacles to Female Education in Burkina Faso.

You might ask, why is this significant? What does this contribute to Christian mission in the world? Phillippe has been able to show with convincing research and evidence that the churches of Burkina Faso – one of the poorest countries in West Africa–are making a very significant contribution to the education of girls in his country. When I am asked in lectures or conferences, ‘what are the best ways to work to overcome poverty in the world’, I often talk about the importance of shaping the lives of children, but especially girls and young women.

If this sort of topic interests you, Phillippe has given me permission to post an abstract of his research on our website. You can find this on our site www.prevetteresearch.net under ‘Blog Posts’.

Thanks for praying and staying in touch with us.

Bill and Ky

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I am asked sometimes ‘what do you do at OCMS’? When I tell people that I mentor or tutor students they may not understand what that means. In this post, I provide a short profile of an OCMS student and an ‘abstract’ of his very important research. This is the kind of people we are working alongside here in Oxford.

In my recent newsletter i mentioned a good friend of ours who recently successfully defended his PhD thesis at OCMS. This means after 5-6 years of hard work, Phillippe has reached the end of a long journey and has made a significant contribution to ‘knowledge’ Phillippe serves as a key leader for the Assemblies of God. he is the Vice President of his denomination and the Assemblies of God in Burkina includes over 4,000 churches.  Philippe is married to Josephine and both live in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: they have three children Daniel, Muriel and Stephanie.

Ordained minister with Assemblies of God since 1981, they both served God in the Bibles schools in training men and women for the ministry. In 1990 they felt led by God to plant the Boulmiougou AOG church that now have three other daughter churches that gather around 1000 members.

They have registered a Non-Governmental Organisation ‘The Evangelical Association in Support to Development’ (AEAD) to address the integral needs of the population of Burkina Faso.

Here is an abstract from his recent thesis: 

  ‘A Comparative and Narrative Investigation into the Contribution of the Assemblies of God Church and Christian NGOs to Overcoming Obstacles to Female Education in Burkina Faso’
Philippe Ouédraogo

 OCMS, PhD

June 2010

ABSTRACT

 Many obstacles, historical, social, cultural/religious and economic, have hindered, and continue to hinder, the development of female education in Burkina Faso. However, Faith-Based Organisations, especially Evangelical ones like the Assemblies of God, have shown, and are continuing to show, innovative ways to improve girls’ and women’s education in the country.

The aim of the thesis is to examine the place of female education in the context of Burkina Faso. A literature review is used to explain the position of girls and women in BF and to explain the importance of educating girls and women in socio-economic development. Quantitative data from official documentation is used to show from national examination results that the evangelical and Roman Catholic schools are far more successful than the state schools. Qualitative data has been collected through interviews, focus groups and face to face discussions with government and church leaders, and from key figures who have benefited from education, to find out their views on both girls’ education and the role played by the evangelical churches. Using narrative research also allows many people, villagers, pastors’ wives, and government officials, to tell their own stories in their own ways. This adds richness to the data. The evidence from these sources shows in what ways evangelical churches have led, and continue to lead, the development of female education; and reflects on whether their approach points to the future. The thesis also seeks to make a contribution to the debate by investigating what contribution the Evangelical churches in particular the Assemblies of God and Christian NGOs, such as AEAD and ANTBA, ACTS and CREDO, made in overcoming obstacles faced by girls and women in education.

 The new insights brought about by this thesis in a globalized world are twofold: first it seeks from a religious community level to document the history and practices of the Evangelical church communities that have contributed to girls’ and women’s education. Secondly, the thesis puts forth an educational innovation that uses first the mother tongue to bridge the non-formal to formal education with a potential of accelerating higher women’s literacy, thus making some of the MDGs a reality in the near future in Burkina Faso and the Sahel region. The evidences and conclusion from the case studies will hopefully inform policy makers such as governments (UNICEF, DFID, FTI), the churches and NGOs and the civil society at large as a way forward.

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 Our son Daniel has written a number of scripts and he has taught me about the elements that contribute to successful stories and films. One of those elements is a major event in the life of a character called a ‘inciting incident’ – ‘a doorway through which the protagonist cannot return’. I now know what people mean when they talk about a near death or traumatic experience where things in life are reduced to ‘what really mattters’.

Ky and I went to Barcelona, Spain on May 11^th for the All Europe Retreat; this was a gathering of all the AG missionaries in Europe for some work and R&R. We had planned to spend an extra couple of days with some friends in Barcelona after the Conference and return to UK on May 19^th.  We enjoyed 2 days of this but in the early morning hours of May 19^th, I began to experience massive chest and abdominal pain. Thinking I was having a heart attack, Ky called for help and took me to the nearest Emergency Room. Within an hour it was determined I was not having a heart attack but ‘Acute Pancreatitis’. If you are like me and don’t know what this means, see: http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/pancreatitis.html.

I knew I had a pancreas but never knew it could start ‘digesting itself’ or hurt this much.  I was immediately admitted to the hospital and told I would be put on an absolute fast from all foods or liquids for the next 4-5 days. This allows the pancreas to ‘calm down’.  Coupled with the incredible pain was the confusion that everything around me was happening in Catalan and Spanish; soon I full of IV tubes and feeling ‘ completely out of control of my situation’. The pain did not really let up for 72 hours and then things slowly started to get better. I had a CT scan on Monday May 24^th; this revealed no masses, no lesions or cysts, but fluid and inflammation throughout my abdomen. I was gradually introduced to food and activity and by the end of the week the doctors agreed to release me on the condition that I get a follow-up CT scan and blood analysis when I returned to the UK.

 On the last night I was in the hospital, I wrote a reflection on my experience after a friend sent my a hymn by Charles Wesley, Jesus Lover of My Soul, which contains these words:

Wilt thou not regard my call?    
  Wilt thou not accept my prayer?    
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall!    Lo! on thee I cast my care!
Reach me out thy gracious hand
 While I of thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand,  Dying, and behold I live!

If you are interested in reading this reflection, you will find it posted under ‘Newsletters’ on our website — http://prevetteresearch.net/reflections-with-charles-wesley-from-hospital-in-spain-pain

 I felt at the time that I needed to record some of the lessons learned in this crisis, as we have a tendency to forget the how God can use pain to teach us of Himself.

We returned to Oxford the night of Friday May 28^th, tired but very grateful to be home where we understood the language and our local surroundings. The following day, our shipment from the USA arrived and 13 friends showed up to unload it and help us start getting settled into our new home in Oxford. We had been living out of suitcases since February 22^nd. I will be seeing doctors here in Oxford this week for another CT and consultation about ongoing treatment.

Thanks be to God, I am now beginning a new chapter of my life. Moving to the UK and joining OCMS was already a big part of that. I will need to lose at least 30-40 pounds and be very vigilant about my diet. I will need to adopt a new lifestyle – where ‘reflection, soul and body care’ are not just useful words but integral to the way I live.

Charles Wesley was right – living is not to be taken for granted. We rest in Him!

Many thanks for your friendship and prayers.

Bill and Ky

Oxford UK

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June 2, 2010

I was hospitalized in Barcelona Spain on May 19th with Acute Pancreatitis. This was probably the most painful experience of my life, certainly the only time as an adult I have been in the hospital for anything other than an injury

During my 9 day hospitalization. a colleague from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies sent me the words to Charles Wesley’s famous hymn, ‘Jesus Lover of My Soul’. On the last night I was in the hospital I wrote a personal reflection about my time of illness and a few lessons learned. I was particularly struck with the  the 3rd stanza of the hymn.

I don’t know what it was in Charles Wesley’s life that brought him to write this hymn but it does parallel so much my personal  pain and angst. I include the entire hymn here followed by my thoughts from a hospital room in Spain:

Jesus, lover of my soul,    
  Let me to thy bosom fly,    
While the nearer waters roll,    
  While the tempest still is high:    
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide           
  Till the storm of life is past,    
Safe into the haven guide,    
  O, receive my soul at last!    
 
Other refuge have I none,    
  Hangs my helpless soul on thee;           
Leave, ah, leave me not alone,    
  Still support and comfort me:    
All my trust on thee is stayed,    
  All my help from thee I bring;    
Cover my defenceless head 
  With the shadow of thy wing.    
 
Wilt thou not regard my call?    
  Wilt thou not accept my prayer?    
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall!    
  Lo! on thee I cast my care!
Reach me out thy gracious hand    
  While I of thy strength receive,    
Hoping against hope I stand,    
  Dying, and behold I live!    
 
Plenteous grace with thee is found,    
  Grace to cover all my sin;    
Let the healing streams abound,
  Make and keep me pure within:    
Thou of life the fountain art;    
  Freely let me take of thee,    
Spring thou up within my heart,    
  Rise to all eternity!

A Personal Reflection after 9 days in a Barcelona Hospital, written May, 27th 2010

May 19 – 20
Wilt thou not regard my call?    
  Wilt thou not accept my prayer?

By the first night of my hospital stay it was clear I was in real trouble, with pain like I have not known before. I am usually ok with physical pain if I understand what is going on around me in this case I felt lost and confused.  The nurses spoke no English, the man with whom I was sharing a room had a family member spending the night with him (typical in Spain) and these guys snored so loud it was impossible to sleep. It seems humorous now but I was praying out loud at a pretty high volume – ‘OH God help me – make these guys shut up or heal their adenoids’.  To no avail, I slept 2 hours that night and watched the dawn with something like knives in my abdomen. My two room partners got up and immediately started talking and laughing like they were at a soccer match. (Later I found out they were from Southern Spain and  love large gatherings with lots of noise, the room was full of their family most of the day talking and laughing. If I had known these lyrics I would have sung them ‘wilt you not regard my call – wilt thou not accept my prayer.’
 
May 21-24
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall!    
  Lo! on thee I cast my care!  

Night two was a repeat of one, by now I understood there is no real treatment for acute pancreatitis (at least here in this hospital) other than shut down all oral intake and ride it out living on pain killers. Usually pain killers just make me have strange dreams and I suppose they dull pain but I feel the pharmaceutical companies have created their own language with ‘pain killers’. The nurses gave me morphine that night to calm me down as I was getting so agitated at the snoring and complete lack of control I had in the situation.  I ‘cast my care on God’ and asked to be moved to another room the next day. What is that cliché about ‘jumping from the frying pan into the fire’? The next three nights were painful but things were starting to feel more like small pieces of glass in my abdomen than knives. But my new room mate redefined the term snoring.  I had fluid in my lungs so I could not make a noise that loud if I had to. As soon as he woke up, he went in our common bathroom and smoked a cigarette and the fumes made me sick.  Funny thing was he was a big likeable guy. We talked a bit – he in Cataluña and me in English, and we got to be buddies. I probably slept 2 hours each night. I had a positive CT scan on Monday and my new buddy was released on Tuesday the day I started showing some real improvement. Just as I was starting to think ‘at last a night where I might sleep a few hours’ the nurses came and  told me they would move me again.  So I just threw up my hands and said oh well, ‘Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall Lo! on thee I cast my care! Whatever you think of God in times like this it is pretty clear we don’t direct the movie. God writes his Story in our lives but this sort of writing is painful.

May25-27
Reach out thy gracious hand    
  While I of thy strength receive,    
Hoping against hope I stand,    
 Dying, and behold I live!   

My new room mate was a younger guy in his 40s in much worse shape than I. Last year he  had colon cancer and part of his colon removed. He is back this time with 10 inch incision up his abdomen because his bowel was twisted and occluded. He made no noise whatsoever at night, other than to occasionally moan in the night. By now I was feeling like I would live and I prayed with deep empathy that God would touch him. ‘Reach out thy gracious hand’ not to me but this brother who needs a touch from you.  His mother slept in a chair next to him. My strength was slowly returning, now I had only to contend with Level 5 pain and diarrhoea and needing to pee every 10 minutes. ‘While of thy strength I receive hoping against hope’ I was beginning to see in my personal trial that this  too shall pass.

Each day got progressively better. I was hooked to about 4 bags of IV, had a sub-clavian catheter for feeding. They took out my wrist IV on Tuesday and the sub-clavian on Wednesday. Now they are monitoring my progress which seems good, I am swollen like a balloon from all the inflammation but I am able to walk and ‘stand’.  On Thursday my doctor said my blood analysis was good and I could be released to travel on Friday.  

This ordeal began on the day we were scheduled to fly back to London. I have asked every day since starting to improve if I can leave at the end of the week. The doctors just tell me that I have a serious condition and it had potential to be fatal. ‘Dying, and behold I live’. I now see these words in a much different perspective. Its true what they say about trauma and near-death experiences, it does get your attention.

I am now beginning a new chapter of my life. Joining OCMS is a part of that. I will continue with care in the UK, hopefully avoiding any surgery, and will need to lose at least 30-40 pounds and be super vigilant about my diet. I will need to adopt a new lifestyle – where reflection, soul and body care are not just pretty words.  

Wesley was right – living is not to be taken for granted. We rest in Him! Thanks be to God for giving us life in both weakness, frailty and recovery.

Bill Prevette

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On Easter weekend 2010, Ky and I arrived safely in Oxford. After 11 months of travel in 35 states and 110 meetings with friends, churches and supporters – we finally MADE IT to England. The last month we were stateside, was blur of activity as we moved out of our house, stored most of our belongings, finished our travel and ‘closed down’ our US base of operations.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to more people than we can name in this update. This 2009-2010 itineration was indeed a challenging time to raise our budget for another four-year term of mission. Thanks to those of you who housed us, invited us to speak, took time to meet with us and placed your confidence in us as your partners and representatives in working around the world with children and youth at risk and training international leaders.

April Research Induction School at OCMS

The first week in the UK Bill was welcomed as a new faculty member at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (see www.ocms.ac.uk). There was little time for formalities as 14 new PhD candidates had just arrived at the Centre for the Spring Research Induction School. These students came from Korea, El Salvador, Ghana, Niger, UK and New York City.  Bill will be mentoring several of these candidates who are working on practice-based research in their areas of mission and calling. Ky was asked to join the Regnum Books International publishing team. We are able carry out these assignments as supported Assemblies of God missionaries; by not receiving a faculty salary we help to underwrite the cost of students who come to Oxford from the Global South for advanced study and research.

 We will be dividing our time between OCMS and continued work with missions in Europe and Asia. This connection with OCMS enables us to blend cutting edge global scholarship with application and practice in our ministry with children and youth at risk. Bill will be getting more involved with international initiatives and interventions where women and children are at risk from human trafficking.

 We will be providing regular updates through our newsletter and website. Ky is making regular postings on Facebook if you want to follow us there. We want to stay connected with our support base in ways that facilitate interactive communication. I will occasionally do interviews with churches and supporters through Skype. Let us know how we can better connect with you.

Until next time, we thank you again for helping us make this move into a new arena of global ministry.

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I received an interesting and thoughtful email from my colleague Tim Southerland concerning prayer for children in Europe and around the world:

 ’I’m writing for our prayer emphasis today on children:
 
I saw on the news the young child pulled out of the rubble in Haiti.  The expression of celebration with hands thrown into the air said it all.  I thought of how many children in Europe are under a pile of rubble made up of the destruction of religiosity, post-modernity, or just plain apathy?  How many are lying right now under the rubble of abuse, poverty, or disease?  Are we willing to do everything in our power to rescue them? How many hours and dollars were spent to get the reaction of that one child in Haiti who was rescued? Maybe a better question is how many hours did that child have to wait?  May the Lord give us the tools, the passion, and the strategy to rescue Europe’s kids from the rubble of sin that has buried their culture of innocence.

The crisis in Haiti has helped us to realize once again that the world is a fragile and uncertain place or as Paul would have it, ‘the whole creation groans’. Images from Haiti have dominated the news and media for almost 2 weeks. Relief is starting to reach the country as things become more functional. In a few more weeks the news media will move on but the Haitian people will be coping with this disaster for years.

I am glad to be associated with faith-based organizations and agencies that will remain committed to Haiti for the long term. Many of these agencies were working in Haiti befor the earthquake and have invested years in partnership with the people of Haiti.

As every child in crisis serves to remind us, God had built growing up into human beings. I pray and believe that the child in Tim’s illustration will continue to grow in all that God intends for her. May God grant us the tenacity and perserverance to continue our efforts to see this child and nation come to fullness in the grace of God’s Kingdom.

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 Immanuel – ‘ God with us’

Jesus came with the good news that God is not a God who hides himself, that God is not a God whom only the philosophers may know, that God is the God who at all costs desires to be known, and who in the most costly way has revealed himself to all.

                                                            — From The Mind of Jesus by William Barclay

 Ky, Daniel and I send you greetings and prayers for a wonderful Christmas season. I write this update after returning to Florida after many weeks of travel. We are looking forward to our time as a family over the Christmas holidays and hope you will enjoy Christmas with your loved ones, too.

I have spent most of the last 7 months traveling and have logged about 60,000 domestic air and road miles since beginning itineration in May. This has included over 130 meetings with pastors, business leaders and foundations, speaking in churches and on university campuses.  Many are increasingly aware of the needs of at-risk children and youth around the world. Fundraising has continued to be a challenge but we are making steady progress. In November, God began to open some unique doors to us and as a result we have now raised about 85% of our needed financial commitments. God willing, Ky and I will relocate to Oxford in late March 2010.

Ky has been able to join me on a few of my trips, but continues working in the registrar’s office at Southeastern University. Daniel is finishing his first semester as a junior at Southeastern. He added acting roles in the play, Enemy of the People, and the musical, Jane Eyre, to his theatre repertoire this fall.    

 We appreciate your prayers for the completion of our fund raising and finalizing the many details of making another international move. We will continue travel and speaking until departure.  This particular assignment differs from all previous ones in that Daniel will remain stateside.  We know he will be fine, but please pray for Ky as she will miss him considerably in her day-to-day life.

 These are important days in the work of the Kingdom and God is leading His church into a greater comprehension and response to the vulnerable and marginalized our world. I have been speaking on the theme ‘God’s mission of hope and reconciliation in times of uncertainty’. Recently a friend reminded me of the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem written in 1863 during the American Civil War, later set to music as I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day:

We appreciate you and wish you a wonderful holiday season with your friends and family.

 Bill, Ky and Daniel Prevette

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As student sent me these links after seeing a movie from Hillsong United and finding a social conscience stirring within:

http://www.theiheartfilm.com/trailers (the movie website itself)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-OvGqFr-BM (Belo Horizonte , Brazil-a clip of the movie when in Brazil)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1CbCYEn4lg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzSvJM5BDhY (human trafficking story)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObetJf2EE80 (a hillsong video on truth & worship)

http://www.i-heart.org/ (this is a "follow up" website from the video that organizes people to action and to become more aware of social injustices)

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Fall 2009

 Autumn arrived a few days ago; we trust your fall season will be one of spiritual, emotional and physical vigour and welcome new ventures.  May the cooler weather and changing patterns of sunlight remind us of God’s grace in the seasons that shape our lives, families and vocations.

 Itineration: strengthening connections and building networks

Itinerate – ‘To travel from place to place – or on a circuit’

We completed our one year commitment as the ‘Missionaries-in- Residence’ at Southeastern University in May 2009. Working with several hundred bright and eager students preparing for a life of service overseas as missionaries, educators, social workers provided us with a wonderful opportunity to invest in the lives of emerging leaders.  

 In preparation for our next overseas assignment in Oxford, UK and working with children at risk internationally, Bill began the work of ‘missionary itineration’.  Here is a bit of elaboration on the process…

 Bill spent May traveling from Florida to Boston and back again on a four week road trip. This trip set a pattern for what is promising to be a unique itineration. He decided to make an effort to visit all our supporters and churches for a meal or face-to-face meeting. This means more appointments and more time on the road as itineration requires attention to building and strengthening relationships. After meeting with 44 people on the East coast, itineration then led to the Rocky Mountain area to visit churches in Colorado and Utah. This was followed by three weeks in Southern California with 36 meetings. 

 Bill is speaking in churches and conducting workshops for church boards; he has created a seminar entitled ‘Mission as Social Transformation’. Itineration has become something of a qualitative research study as well. We are learning that the recession in America has affected the giving patterns of many churches and there is a cultural shift in how the average church understands and supports long-term international missionaries. By treating this itineration as a learning opportunity, we are building collaborative networks with churches, business people, professors, medical professionals and others that share our vision to work with ministries that focus on marginalized children and families in the Global South.

 A personal tribute from Bill to Ky and Daniel

 I want to acknowledge in this update the contribution that Ky and Daniel make to our ministry. Itineration means weeks away from home for me and this, of course, alters our life together. Ky continues to work at the registrar’s office at Southeastern University while I am traveling. She makes it possible for me to be involved in ministry and available to others while keeping our home life intact.  Daniel is now a junior at SEU; he chose to live at home this semester to help conserve family finances. He is working on campus, has academic and acting scholarships and carries a full load of classes. I am blessed with a family that creates the space and support for missionary itineration.  It is easy to overlook the contribution that a family makes to ministry; I ask you to continue to pray not just for our itineration and fund raising activities but for the health and strength of our family.

 New Website

This newsletter coincides with a complete revision of our PrevetteResearch.net web site. We will be distributing this newsletter in both print and electronic format – the latter via our new blog. If you prefer to receive this newsletter in one format or another – you can let us know via our website contact page. Have a great fall season.

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In Central Florida on March 26th it was 82 degrees and humid. That same day my brother sent me a photograph from his home in Calgary, Alberta – they had shovelled two feet of snow from his driveway. I was reminded how each of us experiences challenges and diverse situations in the changing seasons of life.

These are times of challenge for many and we are thankful for the relationships God has given us. We send this newsletter to friends, family and supporters in North America and around the world. We know many of you pray for our family and we are also praying for yours. Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

Events and milestones in our family and ministry 
Loss of Bill’s Mom 
After battling an aggressive cancer for three months, Bill’s mom passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on Feb. 3, 2009. Cam Shore Prevette left a tremendous legacy to her two sons, extended family and many friends. At her funeral in Boonville, NC, Bill spoke of his mother’s tremendous capacity to give to everyone she knew. She was a woman of deep commitment and love to her family. One of Cam’s legacies to us was her tenacity and strength of will. She was the sort of woman that always found a way to persevere in midst of life’s situations and challenges. She will be greatly missed in our lives.

Approval for our next overseas assignment We will complete our ‘Missionary in Residence’ assignment at Southeastern University in May. In February, we were officially approved for our next overseas assignment with AGWM. We will be dividing our ministry and energy between two important spheres of influence. 

Bill will invest half his time as a PhD tutor at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (UK). He will help direct a new program in practice-based research; this means he will be mentoring a number of leaders from Asia, Africa and Europe who are working towards the PhD in Theology and International Development. We will continue our ongoing involvement in Eastern Europe, Cambodia, Thailand and South Asia. This work involves leadership training and development of new projects that assist children, youth and families that are ‘at-risk’ from exploitation, trafficking and poverty.

After May, Bill and Ky will be speaking throughout the US in order to build a budget for the next four years. We hope to be able to return to the field in late 2009 or early 2010. Please let us know if you would like us to visit your church or organization.

Return trip to Cambodia in March

During Spring break at SEU, Bill was invited to return to Cambodia to speak at the Bible School we helped build in 1995 and evaluate some of the childcare projects in the country. The AOG of Cambodia is assisting thousands of children in partnership with Mission of Mercy. The picture was made at Sihanoukville, where AOG operates a children’s home and a Christian school for several hundred children. Bill will be back in Cambodia in 2010.

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